In a battery powered electronic system, emphasis is placed on selecting components and implementing techniques which conserve battery power. These techniques enable an electronic system to perform its intended functions while efficiently utilizing battery power. Since chemical storage batteries can comprise a significant portion of the weight of an electronic system, the minimization of required battery power can translate into reduced weight of the electronic system. This is appealing to both commercial and military users of battery powered electronic systems.
In a commercial environment, reducing battery weight is advantageous since consumers generally prefer light weight portable electronics as opposed to their heavier counterparts. Additionally, it is advantageous to employ power saving techniques in order to extend the interval between replacement or recharge of a battery power source.
In a military environment, extending battery life has become more and more important due to the increased number of portable electronic systems in use today. As armed forces employ a greater number of portable electronic systems in the field, the need to extend the battery life of those systems increases in importance. Additionally, as military users begin to depend on portable electronic systems, such as radio transceivers, GPS navigation devices, rescue beacons, and portable sighting systems, any loss of service of these types of devices can have dangerous consequences. Further, the constant need for batteries by fielded military units creates a constant strain on a military supply system as batteries are continuously sent to these units.
For both commercial and military users of electronic systems, it is advantageous to automatically deactivate an electronic system when the system is not in use. This ensures that power is not wasted while the user is not deriving a benefit from the system. However, as is especially true for military users, turning an electronic system to the "off" state is not always the highest priority of the user, especially in a hostile environment. Additionally, as systems continue to be placed in smaller and smaller packages while providing greater and greater functionality, the controls used to regulate the operation of the system become correspondingly small. Thus, it is desirable to control electronic system through means such as through acceleration of the system (as used in automotive air bag deployment) or other technique.
Therefore, what is needed, are a method and apparatus for ensuring that electronic systems are automatically powered off, or at least consuming less power while not in use.
What is also needed, are a method and apparatus for more conveniently controlling the operation of a portable electronic system.